Sooooo…they tell me that there’s cheating in college sports?!?! I had NO idea!!
Now, unless you’ve been SO tuned into that wild, exciting World Cup Soccer coverage, then you probably didn’t miss this HUGE sports headline. The NCAA has found the University of Southern California GUILTY of numerous violations because they knowingly allowed players to accept gifts – some in the form of money, some in the form of HOUSES – like the one that was given to Reggie Bush’s parents – from professional sports agents, promoters, and other people who had vested interests in the post college, professional careers of the then student athletes. A mouthful for me…a mess for USC!!! Because of Bush’s ineligibility, the sanctions thrown down at USC include vacating their football victories from December 2004-December 2005, losing 30 scholarships for the next couple football seasons, and the UNTHINKABLE – they MIGHT even lose their 2005 BCS Championship Title. Or could THIS be the unthinkable– Reggie Bush’s 2006 Heisman might be yanked.
So this sucks. It sucks for the USC recruits who signed their lives away to become Trojan men. Players and recruits who now won’t even be able to play in a bowl game for two years…oh yeah, did I mention that their post season play privilege was revoked, too???
But ultimately, you gotta commend the NCAA for taking on the giant that WAS USC and making an example out of them. It seems that USC – coaches, athletic director, players, and fans were all subscribing to this Hollywood ideal. They were the actors; college football was the movie. But the actors thought they were bigger than the actual film. They weren’t, and the NCAA said, “it’s a wrap.” It’s difficult, I’m sure, to play by all the rules when the competitive climate begs of you to “win, win, win!” But if you’re gonna break some rules, at least be discreet versus openly socializing with your financial backers as did Bush on USC’s campus with his own, personal investors. Pete Carroll and crew got sloppy and arrogant…so much to the point that the NCAA could no longer turn a blind eye.
Everyone knows life isn’t fair and that sometimes you DO have to bend the rules. But everyone also knows that you NEVER let your RIGHT hand know what the LEFT is doing and USC, with all its PAC-10 and national football dominance and glory for the past 10 years, let the ENTIRE world know what it was doing without a care or concern about any possible consequence.
So …it DOES rain in Southern California or at least it does on USC until they can emerge from this muddy mess they’ve made.
Now, unless you’ve been SO tuned into that wild, exciting World Cup Soccer coverage, then you probably didn’t miss this HUGE sports headline. The NCAA has found the University of Southern California GUILTY of numerous violations because they knowingly allowed players to accept gifts – some in the form of money, some in the form of HOUSES – like the one that was given to Reggie Bush’s parents – from professional sports agents, promoters, and other people who had vested interests in the post college, professional careers of the then student athletes. A mouthful for me…a mess for USC!!! Because of Bush’s ineligibility, the sanctions thrown down at USC include vacating their football victories from December 2004-December 2005, losing 30 scholarships for the next couple football seasons, and the UNTHINKABLE – they MIGHT even lose their 2005 BCS Championship Title. Or could THIS be the unthinkable– Reggie Bush’s 2006 Heisman might be yanked.
So this sucks. It sucks for the USC recruits who signed their lives away to become Trojan men. Players and recruits who now won’t even be able to play in a bowl game for two years…oh yeah, did I mention that their post season play privilege was revoked, too???
But ultimately, you gotta commend the NCAA for taking on the giant that WAS USC and making an example out of them. It seems that USC – coaches, athletic director, players, and fans were all subscribing to this Hollywood ideal. They were the actors; college football was the movie. But the actors thought they were bigger than the actual film. They weren’t, and the NCAA said, “it’s a wrap.” It’s difficult, I’m sure, to play by all the rules when the competitive climate begs of you to “win, win, win!” But if you’re gonna break some rules, at least be discreet versus openly socializing with your financial backers as did Bush on USC’s campus with his own, personal investors. Pete Carroll and crew got sloppy and arrogant…so much to the point that the NCAA could no longer turn a blind eye.
Everyone knows life isn’t fair and that sometimes you DO have to bend the rules. But everyone also knows that you NEVER let your RIGHT hand know what the LEFT is doing and USC, with all its PAC-10 and national football dominance and glory for the past 10 years, let the ENTIRE world know what it was doing without a care or concern about any possible consequence.
So …it DOES rain in Southern California or at least it does on USC until they can emerge from this muddy mess they’ve made.
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